Thailand's manufacturing production index drops in July

BANGKOK, August 28 (TNA) - Thailand's manufacturing production index dropped by 5.82 per cent year-on-year in July 2012 to 178.07 points, caused mainly by a slowdown in local export-oriented industries. Hathai U-Thai, deputy chief of the Office of Industrial Economics under the Thai Ministry of Industry, has attributed the drop mainly to the country's lower production of hard disk drives and electronic parts due to impacts from a massive flooding late last year, although part of the production has been relocated. Besides, Hathai acknowledged, ongoing economic problems in Europe and the United States are affecting Thai exports, particularly those of garments and textiles. Hathai said, however, that local industries which serve domestic consumption have continued to grow, including the automobile industry, which has expanded by 52 per cent year-on-year, and the food industry, which has grown by 59 per cent year-on-year. The senior Thai official projected that Thailand's overall production should further expand in the last quarter of this year. (TNA)